Charlotte's Mayor Foxx Spends $500M On 1.5 Mile Streetcar, Mocks Jobs

(Beware: The contents of this post are one of the reasons why North Carolina officials, including some Charlotte City Council Members are working hard behind the scenes to get rid of me.)


On the heels of Pres. Obama trying to reign in unnecessary Congressional Spending, Charlotte's new Mayor Anthony Foxx and his Partisan City Council Political Hacks (Democrats) voted last night to spend $500 Million on a Streetcar in a looming Recession, which will only travel 1.5 miles.

This is nothing more than a Mayoral Legacy, Vote Buying Scheme and he's taking money out of these necessary City Fund budgets to make his dream a reality:

1) Business Corridor Revitalization, 2) Economic 3) Development and Smart Growth.

In addition this foolish Spending spree will cause Property Taxes to increase because the Federal Gov't will only give $25 Million to help finance it.

When asked about creating Jobs last night Foxx actually mocked the issue by speaking with disdain not compassion in his voice for Charlotte's unemployed:

"You know I've heard over and over again about Jobs, Jobs, Jobs".

So he's going to take money from the City's Business Corridor Revitalization Fund allocated to help create Jobs in Lower Income areas to finance a Democrat Vote Buying, 1.5 mile traveling Streetcar.

This is why Pres. Obama does NOT need to give City Mayors blank checks when it comes to distributing Stimulus Funds.

Here are 7 reasons why Charlotte doesn't need a Streetcar right now:

a) Charlotte's population is less than 1 Million citizens because due to problems with Bank of America and High Unemployment (11%) people are leaving like crazy.

b) Charlotte already has a Mass Public Transportation system with a Light Rail line, City Buses and Street Trolleys.

c) I don't care how much Foxx spins this Streetcar issue it will NOT spur long term Job Growth for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Region!

d) The Streetcar Foxx is spending $500M to develop will in fact travel the SAME places Charlotte's City Buses already travel.

e) Instead of using this money to extend Charlotte's Light Rail line as promised by Foxx while campaigning and during his tenure on the Charlotte City Council, he's using these Funds to buy Votes from East/West Charlotte citizens.

f) If Charlotte City Officials (including Foxx a former City Council Member) were serious about this Streetcar why didn't they start it 5 years ago when Charlotte's Economy was booming?

g) Foxx is also going to more than likely personally benefit from this transaction because of his connections with Design Line Intl.

(Foxx is an Attorney for Design Line Intl, a company which manufactures Hybrid City Buses for the City of Charlotte.)


Now do you understand why Charlotte City Officials should NOT be wasting $500 Million a Streetcar project at this time.

I'm not opposed to expanding Charlotte's Mass Public Transportation System.

I'm only opposed to Waste for Political Gain disguised as expanding Charlotte's Mass Public Transportation System.

Mayor Foxx thinks he's so slick and so "highly intelligent" he can continue fooling Charlotte Constituents.

Corrupt Former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon thought so too.

It happened in Baltimore where disgraced Mayor Shelia Dixon hiked taxes on city parking lots by 18 percent in order to provide "Free" bus service via buses from Mayor Anthony Foxx’s DesignLine International bus-builder. This is what Charlotte has to look forward to — tax hikes, waste, and corruption.

Vote For Charlotte Streetcar, Vote For a Tax Hike
Meck Deck Blog



As I've stated several times previously you can thank your friendly neighborhood newspaper the Charlotte Observer (community nickname: "Charlotte Disturber") for this bit of loveliness.

WARNING: Going forward don't just listen to Foxx's words, watch his actions!

Foxes are extremely sly, cunning animals.

Keep reading for more details on how Mayor Anthony Foxx plans to "improve Charlotte's Transportation system" with Taxpayer money.

Please vote responsibly during the 2010 Midterm elections, 2011 (when Foxx's term ends) and in 2012 (next Presidential bid).









Charlotte City Council Votes To Seek $25 million Federal Grant For Streetcar


Charlotte is going to ask the federal government for $25million to help build a streetcar line uptown.

The City Council voted 7-4 Monday night to apply for a grant that would pay for much of a 1.5-mile line from the Charlotte Transportation Center to Presbyterian Hospital on Hawthorne Drive in the Elizabeth neighborhood.

If successful, the city would need to spend at least $12 million of its own money to finish construction.

Republicans Andy Dulin, Warren Cooskey and Edwin Peacock voted against seeking the grant, along with Democrat Warren Turner.

The Charlotte Area Transit System's long-term transit plan calls for a 10-mile streetcar line from Beatties Ford Road to Eastland Mall via uptown. The line's entire cost has been estimated at between $450 and $500 million - roughly the same cost as the Lynx light-rail line from uptown south to I-485.

The challenge has been finding money to pay for it.

CATS doesn't have the money. The Federal Transit Administration has historically not funded streetcars, though the Obama administration recently changed that rule and released some money for streetcars. The maximum one city could receive is $25 million.

"For every local dollar that goes into the grant, we get two federal dollars back," said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, a Democrat whose campaigned for mayor last year advocated a streetcar line.

Cooksey and Dulin held a news conference Monday afternoon to voice their opposition to the line.

Dulin said seeking the federal grant would send "mixed messages" to Washington as to which transit project is most important to Charlotte. Regional plans call for a commuter rail line north to the Lake Norman area and for extending the Lynx light-rail line from uptown northeast to University City.

The city of Charlotte stepped up its streetcar quest two years ago.

The service would begin at the Charlotte Transportation Center near the Time Warner Cable Arena. It would go south down Trade Street and link with streetcar tracks already in place on Elizabeth Avenue to Presbyterian Hospital.

The line would have a small loop around the arena to tie into the light-rail tracks. That would allow streetcars to be stored at the light-rail maintenance facility south of the New Bern light-rail station.

"This is a step in the right direction - we have already invested taxpayer dollars in it," said Democratic council member Patrick Cannon, referring to the streetcar tracks installed on Elizabeth Avenue.

The city estimates it would handle 950 trips a day based on bus ridership on the segment today. By comparison, the multicar, 9.6-mile Lynx handles 14,000-15,000 passenger trips a day.

One downside to the starter streetcar line is that it wouldn't replace any existing routes. That means the Charlotte Area Transit System would continue to operate existing service like the Gold Rush, and someone - either CATS or the city - would have to pay for the streetcar's estimated $1.5 million annual operating cost.

Assistant City Manager Jim Schumacher said it's unknown whether CATS or the city would pay for the operating costs.

The $37 million cost also doesn't include buying new trolleys. One option is to use three replica streetcars that the non-profit Charlotte Trolley uses through South End.

"We don't have to buy cars," said Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess, a Democrat who voted to seek the grant. "That buys us time. Everything is coming together."

City Manager Curt Walton has identified $24 million that could be used for the streetcar. He has proposed spending $2.5million set aside for engineering and design of the streetcar. He also has tapped $10.5 million set aside for economic development, $4 million from "smart growth" funds and $7 million from a business corridor revitalization fund.






Charlotte City Smart Growth, Economic Development Funds May Be Tapped For Streetcar


The city has the money to take a first step in building its proposed streetcar project. It should use it.

Tonight the Charlotte City Council is to decide whether to apply for a $25 million federal grant for a $37 million project that would build 1.5 miles of its proposed 10-mile streetcar line. The city would have to find $12 million for its share.

City staff suggested pulling the $12 million from among four different pools of city money. The council's Transportation Committee recommends using three of those pools: $2.5 million in unspent streetcar planning money, a $4 million "Smart Growth" revolving fund and $5.5 million from $10.5 million set aside in debt capacity for economic development projects. Because the streetcar is a council priority, and because the money appears to be available, it's likely the council will opt to apply for the grant.

Whether the city will win the federal grant, of course, isn't known. City staff said they're optimistic, however.

The council must also decide whether to apply for another federal grant for a $15 million project to add hybrid electric "Sprinter" buses and increase the frequency along Central Avenue and Beatties Ford Road routes. Similar buses are already being used to run to the airport from the uptown Transportation Center. This would mean a rider could get on a "Sprinter" on Central and ride clear to the airport. The Charlotte Area Transit System already has the money needed to pay its share of the project. As we said last week, that should be a no-brainer.

The streetcar question is trickier and more political. The full route would eventually run from Beatties Ford Road at Interstate 85 through uptown and out Central Avenue to Eastland Mall. The section under consideration goes from Presbyterian Hospital to the Transportation Center uptown. Tracks and some of the wiring have already been installed between the hospital and Kings Drive, and the city already owns three faux-historic streetcars.

Last year the council's Republicans voted against the streetcar planning money, objecting to spending money on a project with no revenue source. And last week, council member Warren Cooksey pointed out that the $12 million might be better spent on other needs such as sidewalks and bike lanes.

Democrats, many of whom represent neighborhoods where the streetcar would run, are more enthusiastic about its potential to lure development. Mayor Anthony Foxx has said repeatedly the streetcar would likely be built in small segments - as other cities such as Portland, Ore., have done.

Some people don't think the streetcar is a good idea to start with. Some people think any transit spending is wasteful. We disagree.

The need for good public transit will only grow stronger as the city grows, traffic worsens, gas prices rise and the city struggles to escape its auto-generated ozone pollution problem.

Now, it appears, the city might get $25 million in unexpected federal money. It would be smart to take advantage of it.







Anthony Foxx: No Property Tax Hike For Charlotte Streetcar


Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx said Thursday he wouldn't raise property taxes to pay for a streetcar, despite his vote to move ahead with the project and suggestions from city staff that a hike may be needed.

"We aren't proposing or considering any increase in property taxes, and now would be a terrible time to think of that," he told the Observer. "I will not raise property taxes for the streetcar."

The streetcar and property tax issues came up when Foxx and Republican John Lassiter spoke to a luncheon of the Charlotte Regional Mortgage Lenders Association at the Myers Park Country Club.

Lassiter has also opposed property tax increases.

The rivals, both at-large city council members, were on opposite sides last month when council Democrats overrode Mayor Pat McCrory's veto of $4.5 million to start design work on the line.

The project, which would run from Johnson C. Smith University through uptown to Eastland Mall, would cost over $450 million. It's unclear where the money would come from.

"I could not promise to build something I didn't know how to pay for," Lassiter told the mortgage group.

Foxx defended his vote. He said the line would bring economic development to neighborhoods that need it. One study showed new development could generate $112million in new property taxes over 20 years.

"The future of our city is dependent on making every part ... a great place to live in," he told the group.

On Monday the city staff outlined ways to pay for the line to the council's Transportation Committee, which Foxx chairs. One option called for creating a special taxing district along the line and enacting a 4-cent tax hike for every $100 of taxable value. Another called for a citywide tax increase of 2 cents.

The city's current tax rate is 45.86cents.

"By supporting the streetcar, I'm not committing myself to a property tax increase," Foxx said later.

During the meeting, he defended his vote for a 2006 city budget that raised property taxes 9 percent - the first increase in at least a decade. Lassiter voted against the budget.

Foxx said the tax hike helped pay for the 70 new officers the police chief requested, more than in the no-new-tax budget supported by Lassiter and McCrory. It also brought in money for new roads and neighborhood improvements.

He suggested that without the tax hike, Charlotte's crime rate might not have gone down. Police say it's down 20percent from a year ago.

"You can't out a price on (a) family's sense of safety, put a value on the life saved because we had the additional police officers," he told the group.

Lassiter has criticized "unnecessary and unmanaged government spending" that he says had nothing to do with police, roads or neighborhoods.

Thursday he alluded to this year's General Assembly actions that raised the state sales tax by a penny and enacted surcharges of 2 percent or 3percent on some taxpayers. He told the mortgage lenders that he'll keep taxes down.

"We're in a high-taxed city in a high-taxed state," he said. "We've got to right the ship."







Finding That Charlotte Streetcar Money


Just finished an interview with Charlotte budget director Ruffin Hall (NOT Ruffin Poole, just in case you're confused by the Ruffins), to find where in the budget this $12 million was hiding. What $12 million? See yesterday's post. Or read on.

Of course, it isn't really hiding. The city staff is pointing to a variety of city funds (listed in the city budget) that still have money in them, funds set aside for just this sort of thing: a project that arises unexpectedly for which elected officials would like to find money.

In this instance, the city is considering whether to set aside $12 million, which it would spend if it gets a $25 million federal grant. The $37 million total would build a 1.5-mile first segment of a proposed 10-mile streetcar line. The City Council is to vote Monday on whether to apply for that grant (plus another one that would add hybrid electric buses). If the city can't find/isn't willing to spend the $12 million there's no point in applying for the grant. Here's a quick rundown of the $12 million:

First, it is capital expense money.

That's a separate, $803 million budget apart from the overall $1 billion operating budget that pays for things such as police officers and garbage collection. (You may or may not like the idea of spending the $12 million but it isn't money that could be used to hire more police.) Remember, too, the airport and the water/sewer departments, while counted in the budget, are self-sustaining "enterprise funds." (Also here's the perennial reminder: The city doesn't pay for schools, parks and recreation, welfare, mental health facilities or a variety of other needs paid by the county or state.)

- $2.5 million in streetcar planning funds. Last summer, in a controversial vote, the City Council allocated $8 million for streetcar planning and engineering. The contract came in for less, and $2.5 million is available. You can find it on page 166 of the city budget. Here's a link. This comes from a pot of money called PAYGO (pay as you go). This budget year the city put roughly $96 million into this fund, which is spent for things like transit maintenance, street improvements, roof replacements, etc.

- $10.5 million in reserve for economic development initiatives. This isn't PAYGO money. It's money set aside to repay debt the city might choose to take on. The council's transportation committee members Thursday said they'd use $5.5 million of this fund. Look on page 163 of the budget.

- $ 7 million in business corridor revitalization funds. These, too are PAYGO funds, as yet unspent. The committee didn't want to do this.

- $4 million in Smart Growth fund. That brings us to a multimillion "Smart Growth" fund, which the committee recommends using as part of the needed $12 million. Many folks wonder: The city just has $4 million sitting around that we didn't know about? I asked Hall. It turns out the money isn't just sitting around in some secret account. It's been used to help with transit-oriented development along South Boulevard.

Hall said it's a revolving fund (i.e., the city replenishes it with money the fund itself generates) that the council hasn't put money into for years. Because it doesn't get money allocated to it, it's not a line item on the budget. It would be on the city's financial statement, he said. Here's a link to that. I ran out of time to do more than a search for "Smart Growth" which turned up nothing. (Other writing deadlines loom larger and larger as I type this.)

Hall said the Smart Growth fund was used, for instance, when the city spent money for its proposed Scaleybark transit oriented development project. When the city sold the land to a developer (the project is stuck in the recession and is delayed), the money went back into this fund. I have a call in to Economic Development director Tom Flynn, in whose department Hall said, the fund sits. Hall didn't know whether taking $4 million would drain the fund.

Update: Flynn just called. He says that when Scaleybark Partners, the developer, repays the city in February the Smart Growth fund will have $4 million in it. It was set up as a revolving fund 9 or 10 years ago, he said, to be used for projects of that sort.

Bottom line: Money is fungible. A smart city manager will always keep things flexible enough so he or she can find funds for projects the elected officials want - or for things that arise unexpectedly midyear. I want managers who can do that. At the same time, I think the public (and elected officials) are owed more transparency about how much money is sitting, awaiting expenditure. It's smart to have some reserve money. It's also smart, if you're a council member, to know just what your reserve money is and where it lives in your budget.







CATS Requests More Tax Dollars For Charlotte Streetcar


CATS said the streetcar line planned between Beatties Ford Road and Eastland Mall would cost about $372 million. It would open in two parts. The first part would open in 2018 and the rest would open in 2023.

Many people along the proposed line are pressuring officials to build it sooner. As a result, city leaders are looking at ways to pay for it sooner. They asked CATS to look into other other funding options to build the line now, like new taxes for people who own property along the line or even projects that aren't built yet along the stretch.

Charlotte council member Nancy Carter said, "It's crucial for us. It's moving people. This is public transit."

People voted for the half-cent sales tax for projects like this and, transit officials said, that'll cover part of the tab, but not all of it.



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Sources: NY Times, Meck Deck Blog, John Locke Foundation, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, Baltimore Sun, Charmeck.org, Google Maps

Jennifer Roberts Supports Park Helms' $9,000. ABC Deal Dinner...NC Corruption

Criticism Grows Over Park Helms-ABC Board $9,000. Dinner



Mecklenburg ABC Board Chairman Parks Helms insisted Wednesday that the agency did not mislead the public about its relationship with an international liquor company that treated officials to a $9,000 holiday dinner.

The board paid more than $11 million to Diageo Americas from January to November, according to documents obtained by WCNC, the Observer's news partner.

Agency officials previously released a statement saying it "has no business relation with Diageo other than selling its products in ABC stores in Mecklenburg County."

The disclosure comes as the state Alcohol Law Enforcement Division is investigating the Nov. 18 dinner for 28 people paid for by London-based Diageo, which makes brands such as Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker Scotch. State ABC Commission officials have authority to remove local board members and employees who violate state laws against accepting gifts.

Last week, Helms announced that he and other top staff paid back the cost of the meal at Del Frisco's steakhouse in south Charlotte.

In his first public remarks since the disclosure about payments to Diageo, Helms defended himself and accused political rivals of spreading falsehoods.

Helms said there is no link between the holiday party and payments to the company. The board pays $47 million a year to Diageo and dozens of other vendors for the purchase of their products, he said.

"It's disappointing to me we are going down the road of making innuendo accusations," Helms said.

But Helms' assurances failed to quell criticism from some county commissioners, who appoint members of the local Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

The agency's statement did not explain that it not only sells liquor, but also makes direct payments to Diageo.

Commissioner Karen Bentley said that Helms should resign.

The board's previous statements about its relationship with Diageo "was at minimum, misleading," Bentley said. "At maximum, it was completely false."

County Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts also said the ABC Board's previous statement was "misleading."

Distillers lobby the state ABC commission to keep their products in its central warehouse through which local stores buy their liquor.

ABC stores are run by local boards across the state. Distillers also try to persuade local panels to stock their brands in the stores.

Local boards place orders from the central warehouse and after the alcohol arrives, the board has 30 days to make payments to liquor companies.

Records show the Mecklenburg ABC Board wrote 22 checks to Diageo from January to November. The board is Diageo's biggest customer in North Carolina.

Helms said Mecklenburg officials decide which brands to carry in their 21 stores based on sales.

A 1996 memo from the state ABC Commission prohibits manufacturers or vendors from giving local ABC boards money "or any other thing of value."

The Mecklenburg ABC Board has previously said that "unsolicited meals is an accepted business practice" and excluded from the law barring gifts.

Helms, who attended with his wife, was the only board member at the dinner. He has said he is repaying $1,000. Board CEO Calvin McDougal, who went with his wife, is repaying $4,000. They agreed to cover the tab for ABC employees for whom repayment would be a hardship. Others must pay $330 each.

On Wednesday, Helms said he did not know who was hosting the dinner before he arrived. He said that the ABC Board has dealings with 60 to 70 vendors whose brands are sold in Mecklenburg County stores.

But commissioner Bentley said Helms "should know better."

"If he didn't violate the policy, he violated the spirit of it," Bentley said.

Roberts, the commission chair, said she did not know if the board would take action against Helms. However, she noted, that he has repaid the company for the dinner.

"They have made things right," Roberts said. "The dinner was mistake and it is not going to happen again."




Charlotte-Meck. ABC Board Caught In Another Lie



The distiller that the Mecklenburg County ABC Board got a $9000 dinner from and the board then claimed it had “no business relation with Diageo other than selling its products in ABC stores in Mecklenburg County.” Yeah, not so much.

WCNC reports that the board only routinely writes six-figure checks to Diageo each month. During 2009 the board has had $11m. worth of business relations with Diageo.

Still, this has not pushed the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners to remove the board and its chair Parks Helms and start over. Instead the Republicans on the board remain narrowly focused on whether board violated any ethics law by accepting the $9000 gift. This is staggeringly beside the point. Helms and fellow board members are presumed to be held to a higher standard than petty thieves. They are in a position of trust, given immense power with little direct, day-to-day public oversight. If we can’t trust them to do the right thing, then we need to find people we can trust.





ABC Officials Repay Pricey Holiday Dinner


The Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and top staff members have paid back $9,000 to an international liquor company that treated the local officials to a holiday dinner last month.

The payback comes as state officials are conducting an investigation into the dinner at Del Frisco's steakhouse in Charlotte, where a hostess said the cheapest steak is $32.95. State ABC Commission officials said last month that they have the authority to remove local board members and employees who violate state laws against accepting gifts.

“We shouldn't have done it,” ABC board Chair Parks Helms told the Observer Monday. “We made a mistake.”

He said that the dinner for 28 people may have appeared improper and that the board will revise its policies to ensure that guidelines about accepting gifts are clear in the future. The Observer's news partner, WCNC-TV, first broke the story in November.

State ABC Commission Chair Jonathan Williams, who ordered an investigation by the state Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, commended the board.

“I am pleased to learn the Mecklenburg ABC is taking steps to ensure that this situation is not repeated in the future,” Williams said in a prepared statement, “and also has taken action to address some of the specific questions surrounding the propriety of receiving a gift of this nature.”

He said the investigation is ongoing and that he couldn't comment further.

The state ABC commission runs the central warehouse through which local stores buy their liquor and handles liquor law violation cases but has rarely exerted authority over liquor stores. Those are run by the local boards that are appointed by county commissions and city councils.

Helms, who attended the dinner with his wife Eleanor, is paying $1,000. He was the only board member in attendance. Among the staff, CEO Calvin McDougal, who was accompanied by his wife Portia at the dinner, is paying $4,000. Both men are covering the tab for staffers for whom repayment would be a financial hardship. Other staff must pay $330 each.

A statement issued by the Mecklenburg board suggested that London-based Diageo, which makes brands such as Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker Scotch, wouldn't gain much by picking up the bill: “The Mecklenburg County ABC system has no business relation[sic] with Diageo other than selling its products in ABC stores in Mecklenburg County.”

The state ABC warehouse essentially serves as storage for the local stores' liquor and sets prices. The distillers still own the liquor until the stores buy it. The local stores determine what is ordered for the warehouse and then pay for it.

Helms said a steady stream of government scandal stories had caused an overreaction to news of the dinner.

“In the business world, you have meetings and dinners with the people whose products you sell,” he said. The Mecklenburg board's statement also said that, in the past, the state commission exempted unsolicited meals from state laws prohibiting distillers from giving gifts to retailers.

In a recent interview with WCNC-TV, Williams said: “In the sales and commercial world, wining and dining is part of how business is done,” he said, “but we're public servants.”

Local board members from Mecklenburg and other jurisdictions have been criticized in the past for annual conferences where liquor companies and others who do business with the state provided drinks, subsidized golf and other freebies. Organizers dropped the golf game from the schedule in 2007 after an Observer story about one of the conferences.



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Charmeck.org, The Meck Deck Blog, John Locke Foundation, WCNC, Google Maps

Richard Burr & State Prosecutors Probe Constitutionality Of Ben Nelson's Deal

Several State Prosecutors Probing Nelson Health Care Deal



The top Prosecutors in seven states are probing the constitutionality of a political deal that cut a funding break for Nebraska in order to pass a federal health care reform bill, South Carolina's Attorney General said Tuesday.

Attorney General Henry McMaster said he and his counterparts in Alabama, Colorado, Michigan, North Dakota, Texas and Washington state — all Republicans — are jointly taking a look at the deal they've dubbed the "Nebraska compromise."

"The Nebraska Compromise", which permanently exempts Nebraska from paying Medicaid costs that Texas and all other 49 states must pay, may violate the United States Constitution — as well as other provisions of Federal law," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.

McMaster's move comes at the request of Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint of South Carolina.

We have serious concerns

In a letter to McMaster, Graham singled out the deal to win Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's vote on the massive health care bill the Senate is expected to adopt Thursday. Nelson held out as fellow Democrats worked to get 60 votes to foreclose a GOP filibuster and the bill was amended to shield Nebraska from the expected $45 million annual cost tied to expanding Medicaid programs.

"We have serious concerns about the constitutionality of this Nebraska compromise as it results in special treatment for only one state in the nation at the expense of the other 49," Graham and DeMint wrote.

Nebraska wasn't alone in getting Medicaid breaks. Vermont, Louisiana and Massachusetts also got help with their programs.

Along with Texas, officials in Washington, Alabama, Colorado and Michigan confirmed they were working with McMaster.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said he wasn't sure what could be done while the federal legislation remained under debate. Officials in the other states did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Tennessee's Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey called for his state's attorney general to investigate the deal.

Ramsey, McMaster and Michigan's Mike Cox are running for governor in their states.

"Whether in the court of law or in the court of public opinion, we must bring an end to this culture of Corruption," McMaster said. The negotiations "on their face appear to be a form of vote buying paid for by taxpayers," he said.

We'll assist anyone

McMaster is encouraging a South Carolina citizen to step forward to sue to challenge the measure if it is signed into law. "We'll assist anyone to the extent that we're able," McMaster said.

Also Tuesday, U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said Republicans need to stop complaining about deals their colleagues made.

"Rather than sitting here and carping about what Nelson got for Nebraska, I would say to my friends on the other side of the aisle: Let's get together and see what we can get for South Carolina," Clyburn said.

For instance, Clyburn expects states will get more help covering Medicaid expansion costs. Critics say the federal government's coverage of 91 percent of those future costs will disappear, leaving states with huge holes in their budgets. Clyburn says the legislation the federal share should be 95 percent, with states picking up no more than 5 percent.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said the federal legislation is "well intended," but called it "fundamentally flawed in the same way the stimulus efforts were in that the states and the taxpayers are left footing the bill."

Sanford this spring was the nation's only governor to take a state legislature to Federal and State court to block federal stimulus money.




Schumer Goes Hunting, Bags Nelson



The perils of "Political hunting" trips range from mockery — as with Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) expensive gear — to mortal danger — as in ending up on the wrong end of Dick Cheney’s 28-gauge.

But Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had another story in mind when he traveled recently to Nebraska, a cautionary tale told to him early in his career by an older, urban-oriented New Jersey congressman who had made the mistake of accepting a hunting invitation from a Midwestern colleague.

“He shot the dog,” Schumer recalled, referring to the outcome of the Jersey pol’s inept marksmanship.

Schumer did not shoot the dog. He bagged three pheasants. And six weeks later, he bagged Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), serving as key negotiator as Nelson held the fate of landmark health care legislation in the balance.

While the two Senate Democrats didn’t spend their morning in a field outside Omaha talking business, the hunting trip will go down as a key, if unconventional, detour on the road to the Democrats’ most important modern legislative accomplishment.

The senator from Brooklyn woke up early the morning of Nov. 8, a day after he’d watched Nebraska thump Oklahoma on the gridiron. He put on a blaze orange hunting vest and hat, refusing only the boots (“too big”). He received a crash course on shotgun safety and marveled at the dogs.

“They were just amazing,” he said of the pointers and retrievers. “I always thought hunting dogs were just for companionship.”

Then the senator from New York saw a pheasant, took aim and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

“He didn’t get the safety off, so he couldn't shoot,” his host, Nelson, recalled with a chuckle Tuesday morning. “You have to push the safety off to shoot. He figured that out.”

The next pheasant wasn’t so lucky.

“He thought I shot it,” said Nelson. “I said, ‘No, I know I didn’t shoot ‘cause I didn’t shoot.’ And I said, ‘So you either scared it to death or you hit it.’ He was ready to jump up and down.”

Schumer bagged, his companions told him, three pheasants that early November day in Nebraska, though he was “never 100 percent sure they weren’t helping me.”

Schumer and Nelson's friendship began in 2005, when Schumer was named chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Nelson was considering retiring instead of seeking reelection in a conservative-oriented state in 2006, and Schumer told POLITICO that when he assumed the DSCC chairmanship, Nelson was his first call.

The logic was clear, Schumer said: “He runs, we win; if he doesn’t run, we lose.” So he gave in, he says, to extensive demands from the Nebraskan, and Nelson cruised to what turned out to be an easy reelection.

Schumer’s bond with the Senate moderates he helped elect and reelect in 2006 and 2008 has powered his remarkable ascent within the chamber. Two years ago, Schumer seemed in danger of being overshadowed by his state’s junior senator, Hillary Clinton, or elbowed aside in the Senate leadership by Obama mentor Dick Durbin.

Beyond Majority Leader Harry Reid, the architect of the Democrats' successful health care strategy, Schumer has emerged as the dominant political force and go-to negotiator on Reid's leadership team. And the Senate is on the verge of passing landmark legislation that's deeply controversial in states such as Nelson's, a lesson Schumer said was drummed into him by the people he met that weekend in Omaha.

The apparent political victory has further enhanced Schumer’s stature. The jokes about the most dangerous place in Washington being between him and a camera have gone stale, replaced by a widespread recognition that he has evolved into one of the essential players on the American political landscape and, quite likely, a future majority leader.

The hunting story became legend in the Senate last month after Nelson passed photographs of the orange-clad, gun-toting Harvard grad, dead bird in hand, around an amused caucus lunch. But it also belongs in the broader legend of Schumer, the political animal par excellence.

“Chuck always wants to know where the other guy is coming from,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), a former Schumer staffer, who added that he wasn’t surprised that Schumer acquitted himself well.

“He has handled more guns at crime bill press conferences than most hunters,” he said.

Indeed, word of Schumer’s hunting exploits was greeted with astonishment on both sides of the simmering gun control wars, in which Schumer came of age as a central player. His work on the Brady Bill’s handgun restriction turned him into, literally, a National Rifle Association poster child. The NRA’s favorite image pictures Schumer grinning under bright blue earmuffs as he demonstrates the deadliness of a stubby assault weapon.

“He just must have needed Nelson's vote very badly to do that,” said Tom King, the president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, who called Schumer “patently anti-gun.”

Schumer says, however, that he favors only common sense and regionally varied restrictions on guns, and he has long bragged of winning, at summer camp, an NRA sharpshooting prize with a .22 rifle.

“It surprised me he went out with Ben Nelson shooting, but it doesn’t surprise me that he shot a couple of birds,” said Jim Kessler, a former Schumer aide who later founded Americans for Gun Safety, a gun control group that was later folded into the group Third Way. “In 1994, if Chuck thought the way to win the assault weapons ban vote was to go out and hunt with [former Democratic Rep.] Bill Brewster of Oklahoma and shoot three birds, he would have done it.”

Schumer and Nelson differ slightly about the origins of the hunting trip. Schumer recalls Nelson telling him, in the spring, “You have to come out.”

“I’ve always wanted to go hunting,” he said.

“I thought he was kidding at first; I said 'sure,’” Nelson said. “And I finally said, 'If you are serious, I can arrange this.' And he was, and so I did.”

Schumer and Nelson also shot skeet. They also tooled around on ATVs, with Schumer’s wife, former New York City Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall, hanging onto the back of Nelson’s vehicle. (Her city job hadn’t involved much off-roading.) Schumer posed with his dead quarry, though he left it for Nelson to dress, before they retired to the lodge for a lunch of pheasant.

(“He would definitely want to eat it,” Kessler said of his former boss. “He’s got to eat it. He’d eat anything.”)

They did not, both senators said, talk health care.

“There wasn’t any lobbying effort, just two guys having fun and going hunting and watching football,” said Nelson.

But the Nebraska senator’s warm regard for the New Yorker, and their relationship of trust, would prove central to getting the final health care deal done. Last Wednesday night, Nelson gave a list of must-haves to Schumer and Reid. At times on Thursday, Schumer was calling Nelson every 15 minutes, as part of what the Nebraskan called “pre-negotiations.” By nightfall, with progress being made, Reid asked Nelson to join a round of intensive talks Friday morning. Nelson was set up in one wing of Reid's suite of offices. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), one of the Senate’s most liberal members, was in another part. For 12 hours, Schumer and Reid shuttled between them.

Schumer “was extremely important,” Nelson told POLITICO just after the deal was done. “The thing about Chuck Schumer is he is very innovative, he doesn’t get ideological about something. …We may be an odd couple in a lot of respects, but we share some of the same qualities in trying to solve things.”

Schumer said the negotiations left him with deep respect for Nelson and that the hunting trip also taught a lesson.

“You can see where going hunting is a real bonding experience, kind of like golf,” he mused. “I’d like to do it again.”

“I’ve got a lot of invitations,” Schumer said.



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Sources: MSNBC, Politico, Youtube, Google Maps

North Carolina vs 2010 Census Count...Accuracy Matters

2010 Census poses unique challenges to area NC Counties


Brunswick County is trying to help the U.S. Census Bureau get a more accurate picture of how many people live here.

“2010 is around the corner,” Brunswick County Manager Marty Lawing said.

The Census Bureau is encouraging all the counties in North Carolina to form committees of trusted and prominent locals who will help answer questions and ease concerns about filling out census forms.

The 2010 census forms will be sent out in March and must be returned by April, Lawing said.

For the 2000 census, Brunswick County had a return rate on census information of 47 percent. The state rate was 64 percent and the national rate 67 percent. New Hanover County’s rate was 61 percent.

Knowing exactly how many people live in Brunswick County is important, county officials say, because its share of most state and federal dollars is based on population.

But that low percentage is misleading because many of the households receiving census forms belong to part-time residents.

The U.S. Census Bureau sends forms to homes in Brunswick County and also goes door to door counting people, said Constance Hyman, local census partnership specialist.

She said the census does not consider whether the residents are seasonal or full-time when sending out the requests for information.

“That’s one of our challenges with the coastal communities is the fact that there are a lot of seasonal residents,” she said.

At a recent meeting, Brunswick commissioners questioned whether there would be a way to look at the county’s tax records to see which are part-time and which are full-time residents.

But there might not be a clear-cut answer to that issue.

“I don’t know of a real good way to improve that accuracy,” Lawing said.

Hyman pointed out that Brunswick’s 47 percent response rate does not mean 53 percent of the county was not counted, just that 53 percent of homes didn’t return forms that were left on doorsteps.

Census workers also fan out in May and June to interview people who have not mailed in their responses. Residents who have multiple homes might fill out the census documents in more than once place, and the workers interview them as well to see where they spend most of their time.

“It’s really up to the person where they decide they would lay their head most of the time,” U.S. Census media relations representative Tony Jones said.

Hyman said one of the goals for the 2010 census is to increase the mail-in response rate by at least 2 percent in North Carolina.

“Our main focus is those residents who are permanent residents,” she said.

Complete Count committees

To help get an accurate count, Brunswick County at its Jan. 4 meeting will appoint around 30 members to a Complete Count Committee. The committee will be responsible for answering citizens’ questions about the census and getting the word out about its importance, Hyman said.

Each commissioner will appoint two members to the committee.

The board will also select at least one representative from each of the county’s 19 municipalities.

The commissioners at their Monday night meeting asked Lawing to also come back to the board with a recommendation on whether the county should offer stipends to the people who serve on the committee.

The U.S. Census Bureau is trying to get all the counties in North Carolina to appoint Complete Count Committees, Hyman said.

The committees will be trained in January by census officials and will be holding events to get the word out about the census.

She said the census will also be opening an office in Wilmington in January.






N.C. is a State in Transition


North Carolina lawmakers voted this year to give up to $12.5 million a year in tax breaks for Apple so the computer giant will build a data center in Western North Carolina.

The vote sparked arguments about corporate handouts, but lawmakers said Apple offers the sort of new-economy jobs that are critical to North Carolina.

Two months later, with less public attention, the legislature passed $10 million in tax incentives for a paper mill in Plymouth in Eastern North Carolina that will be converted to make diaper fluff. The mill is part of the traditional manufacturing economy that has been bleeding jobs in the state for more than a decade.

The contrasting votes were yet another sign that North Carolina is a state in the middle, pulled in multiple directions as it makes the transition from a rural state to an urban and suburban one. The struggle shows in much of what the legislature did this year – in debates on issues ranging from tax reform to environmental protection.

“We are, on many levels, a state in transition,” said Michael Walden, an economist at N.C. State University.

North Carolina is no longer primarily rural, but it is not yet fully urbanized. It's not a manufacturing state any more, and not yet completely high-tech.

When legislators try to push North Carolina to reflect the new possibilities, they often find themselves pulled back by old realities.

“Rural legislators go back to their districts and see people employed in the pulp mill or the textile mill,” Walden said. “They see that a lot of those cutting-edge jobs are not going to go there.”

Senate leaders this year began trying to overhaul the state's tax code, arguing that the early 20th-century tax laws do not fit a blossoming knowledge-based economy. The change would have lowered corporate, income and sales tax rates but expanded the sales tax to include a variety of services, such as auto repair and house painting.

“Our economy is changing, and we have to make the necessary adjustments so we can compete. One of those is we need to have a modern, competitive tax structure that ensures a steady flow of income,” said John McNairy, who owns a trucking company and John Deere dealership in Kinston and previously led what is now the N.C. Chamber of Commerce.

The reform stalled. Although McNairy argues it would help old industries as much as new, he said lawmakers worried about unintended consequences.

A similar conflict undergirded some of the environmental debates.

State officials, starting with Gov. Bev Perdue, are increasingly pushing for North Carolina to develop a “green” economy. Legislators passed bills making it easier to install solar collectors, providing loans for energy improvements and expanding credits for investing in renewable energy.

A bill to establish a permitting process for windmills, though, failed amid fears of dotting the tourist-friendly mountains with the gangling wind catchers.

“The mountain economy is based on the view. The tourism industry and second-home industry don't want windmills in that view,” said Bill Holman, a former state secretary of environment and natural resources. He is now director of state policy at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

North Carolina data show the population shifting from a slight rural majority in 2000 to a slight urban majority last year, but the state calculates the population differently than the U.S. Census. The census showed a 59 percent urban majority in 2000 that continues to outpace rural growth.

“It isn't urban like the Northeast, but we've created these sprawling metro areas,” said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC Chapel Hill's program on public life. “Yet we remain, in our traditions and our historical legacy where there's a lot of ruralism alive.”

Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, who leads the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, emphasized that urban areas' share of newly created jobs also will continue to grow, even if the workers who hold them live outside the cities.

“Those trends point to a shift in where the state is going,” Foy said. “The legislature is pulled in different directions.”

Rural lawmakers long dominated the legislature and still hold sway, particularly in the House, where Democrats maintain a majority that has to hold together liberals, business-oriented members and the black caucus.

“They need us to get things passed,” said Rep. Jim Crawford, a Granville County Democrat.

He acknowledged, though, that the base of power has shifted.

“The urban folks have certainly gotten control of the votes now,” Crawford said.

The redistricting following the 2010 census is expected to give Charlotte and Raleigh a total of five additional House seats and two additional Senate seats.

That shift was seen when lawmakers banned smoking in bars and restaurants this year, with suburban and urban legislators making the difference. They represent constituents, many of them transplants from other states, unfamiliar with North Carolina's historical ties to tobacco and accustomed to smoke-free, chain restaurants.

At the same time, legislators whittled a proposed $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase to a dime, a nod to the dwindling ranks of tobacco farmers and cigarette plant workers.

Counties won legislation allowing them to boost the sales tax to pay for transit improvements, a win for metro areas. The House, though, approved a bill to make it tougher for cities to annex adjoining communities, a power that metropolitan leaders say they need to manage growth. The Senate did not take up that bill.

Mecklenburg County is the state's largest urban center, but the Charlotte Chamber factors in neighboring rural communities when it constructs economic strategies for the region. It's the same two-directional tug felt in the capital, said Natalie English, a senior vice president with the chamber. It's also not a new conflict for lawmakers, said English, who previously served as the chamber's lobbyist in Raleigh.

“This year might have been more obvious than in other sessions,” English said. But as the population trends point to greater urban growth, “we'll start to see more of this struggle. As long as there are people in rural parts of the state, they will continue to have needs different from the (urban) majority.”

The legislature must tend to both, said Mayor Brian Roth of Plymouth, home of the paper plant that plans to shift to supplying diaper fluff. He supports the cultivation of new industries but wants support for industries that have employed members of his community for generations.

Plymouth is proof that both are possible, he said. State money is not only expected to aid the paper plant but also help expand the local airport, which made it easier to attract medical device manufacturer Micro Invasive Technology Inc.

“It's not this or that,” Roth said, “It has to be all of the above.”



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Sources: US Census Bureau, 2010 Census, Star News Online, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Youtube, Google Maps

Charlotte Voters Are Opposed To Secret DSS Fraud Probe Sessions...Stop Public Corruption

The videos below expose examples of Political and Public Corruption being brought to a halt by Federal Authorities.

The first video shows members of New Jersey Governor's Cabinet being arrested amid a sweeping corruption investigation which ensnared three mayors, two state legislators and several Rabbis.

In the second video news of former NC House Speaker Jim Black (Democrat) being sentenced to Federal Prison for Political and Public Corruption.

Don't worry Charlotte, NC isn't too far behind.

There IS going to be a Federal bust in Charlotte with several prominent local Politicians being carted away in handcuffs for all the Nation to see.

(Remember Jim Black)

Don't believe me?

Listen there's tons of Political and Public Corruption in North Carolina, Charlotte included.

Do you think these crooks (the female ones too) are going to slide by forever without getting caught?

In case you haven't heard according to a recent Gallup Poll report, President Obama is losing White Voter support fast (39%). (White Flight!)

Thus even if the majority of Charlotte's Black Voters choose to ignore local Political and Public Corruption, Charlotte's White Voters won't.

Perhaps Charlotte's Delusional, Country bumpkin Leaders haven't realized it yet but Pres. Obama is focused on keeping those White Voters happy.

So if Charlotte's Black Leaders think they can continue being corrupt without serious repercussions, they are sadly mistaken.

To sum it up Charlotte Politicians (not all, just the Corrupt ones) won't be able to hide behind Pres. Obama's coattails forever.

Nor Charlotte's new Democratic Mayor Anthony Foxx for that matter.

Why?

Pres. Obama is a Professional Politician through and through. (Surprise!)

This isn't a bad or negative thing, its just a simple fact. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just because Pres. Obama called Anthony Foxx to congratulate him on his recent mayoral win, doesn't mean Pres. Obama is going to look the other way as it relates to Charlotte's Political and Public Corruption.

Especially if that Corruption threatens his Political Career.

In essence Charlotte's Corrupt Politicans (Male & Female) are going down!

Like I mentioned above there IS going to be a Federal bust in Charlotte with several prominent local Politicians being carted away in handcuffs for all the Nation to see.

Don't believe me?

You'll see. Just watch.

Now check out the videos below. Charlotte isn't too far behind.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Former House Speaker Jim Black was sentenced to 63 months in prison on a federal corruption charge.







Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners want closed-door meeting on DSS


Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners want the board to hold a closed-door meeting as soon as next week to shed more light on an ongoing investigation into the Department of Social Services, including a charity that bought gifts for needy children.

Commissioner Bill James sent the request in an email overnight to county commissioners and top county staff, including County Manager Harry Jones and DSS Director Mary Wilson. He said it was sent on behalf of the board's three Republicans, which also include Karen Bentley and Neil Cooksey.

The request follows a story in Sunday's Observer detailing an internal memo from a former employee who headed the Giving Tree charity.

James said he wants the board to talk about the issue in closed session as soon as Dec. 17. He said in an interview this morning that in order to hold the meeting, he'll need to get at least two of the board's Democrats to sign on to the idea.

“Over the past few months it has become clear that there are a variety of aspects to the current DSS situation that seems to remain unanswered,” James wrote in the email.

The email was addressed to county attorneys Marvin Bethune and Tyrone Wade and clerk to the commissioners, Janice Paige. He asked the attorneys to weigh in on the prospect of having a meeting, and let them know of any changes or issues they have about the matter.

James said if federal and local law enforcement are involved, he did not want the meeting to hinder their work. The county has said it asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg police months ago to help gather information about its probes into DSS spending, but officials have said they can't comment further on what law enforcement may be looking into.

James said that even as law enforcement is involved, “It also seems to be equally clear that current and former employees of DSS wish to be heard and there are matters and details that the Commission could be apprised of that are currently withheld.”

James said they'd like to invite current and former employees to weigh in, including former county general manager and one-time interim DSS head Janice Allen Jackson and Cindy Brady, a former DSS employee who volunteered with the Giving Tree.

The email states that the county may be able to call the meeting based on a state statute that says commissioners may act as the “board of social services.”





Agenda for Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Fraud Probe Closed Meeting Request

Some county commissioners want the board to hold a closed-door meeting as soon as next week to shed more light on an ongoing investigation into the Department of Social Services, including a charity that bought gifts for needy children.

Commissioner Bill James sent the request in an email overnight to county commissioners and top county staff, including County Manager Harry Jones and DSS Director Mary Wilson. He said it was sent on behalf of the board's three Republicans, which also include Karen Bentley and Neil Cooksey.

Here is his proposed agenda:

Mecklenburg Board of Commissioners
Action Item – (DRAFT at 12-6-2009)
December 15, 2009
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Subject: Schedule a closed session meeting of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners operating as the ‘Board of Social Services’ to discuss various matters related to DSS for Noon on December 17, 2009.


ACTION: A motion to schedule a meeting of the County Commission operating as the ‘Board of Social Services’ within the meaning of NCGS 90B-6, NCGS 153A-77 and other statutes for Noon on December 17, 2009 and to also:

A.) Instruct the Board of Social Services’ employee, Director Mary Wilson, who is a direct hire of the Board of County Commissioners, to appear at this meeting and to provide answers to certain questions and to provide documents as requested by the members of the Board of Social Services in advance of that meeting.

B.) Instruct the Director of Social Services to make her supervisors and employees (especially those in DSS Finance) available to the Board of Social Services for questioning in private without management present.

C.) Offer an invitation to former acting DSS head Janice Allen Jackson to appear at this closed session and to offer private commentary about the DSS.

D.) Offer an invitation to former DSS ‘Giving Tree’ employees to appear at this closed session and to offer private commentary about DSS’ Giving Tree program.

E.) Instruct the County Manager to make available to the Commissioners copies of any and all internal memo’s produced by internal Audit and senior management involving DSS matters from the last 12 months for the Board to review (including all of those classified as ‘personnel matters’.

F.) Instruct the County Manager to provide to the Commission a detailed list of gifts purchased for others with Giving Tree funds and his opinion as to whether these purchases actually benefited (were received by) the individuals to whom they were intended.

G.) Receive a presentation from Dena Dioro about our current expense ‘advance’ policy and whether it complies with the time requirements of IRS circular/publication 15.

H.) Provide a list to the Commission of all remaining items left in inventory in the County’s possession related to the Giving Tree program before these items were allowed to be disbursed (and their purchase price).

Commission Contact: Commissioners Karen Bentley, Neil Cooksey and Bill James

Presentation: Yes __X__ No _____

BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION: Recent turmoil and dissention within DSS

POLICY IMPACT: Unknown until presentation

FISCAL IMPACT: None






The Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS Money Mystery: Where did money go?

Internal e-mails reveal new allegations of misspending at the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, raising more unanswered questions about what happened to money intended to help needy children.

Some of the more than 1,000 e-mails the Observer obtained through a public records request provide the most detailed account to date about the agency's accounting fiasco.

E-mails show:

Officials suspected an employee wrote $80,000 in checks to herself from donations.

An administrator questioned why other donations were used to buy $340 diamond earrings, leather coats and a $300 DVD player.

A top executive complained that a senior fiscal administrator frustrated co-workers with her "inability to explain the simplest concepts of revenue and expenses."

After nearly a year, officials have never said who was at fault for $162,000 that disappeared or whether anyone was disciplined.

No one has been charged in an ongoing police investigation and a county report says officials cannot be certain where the money went.

Meanwhile, donors are left to wonder whether their generosity ever helped buy Christmas gifts for those in need.

In one e-mail, a woman describes calling the county in 2007 to give $900 for single mothers at Christmas. The person who answered the phone told her to make a check payable to the worker's sister.

The donor said she grew suspicious and made the check out to the county, but the idea that it may still have been misused is "like a kick in the stomach."

In another e-mail, a founder of Second String Santa said he was concerned whether kids received the more than 50,000 toys his group had donated since 1989.

Will Miller said he believes some of the toys reached children, but he's not sure about the rest.

"Will we ever know? Probably not," he said.

Two commissioners said they have asked county administrators for a full accounting of what went wrong at DSS but have yet to receive answers. County officials have never explained who was responsible, they said.

"To fix it, you have to admit all the stuff that is messed up," Commissioner Bill James said. "They don't want to do too much digging."

County administrators declined interview requests. Instead, a county spokesman released a prepared statement saying appropriate fiscal controls have been installed in response to an outside audit and an internal investigation.

"Our review of the e-mails we provided and your follow up questions did not reveal any new information that would suggest any change in the audit findings or in management's response to those findings," the statement said.

Some commissioners said they have been told that the employees involved have either left county government or been placed in new positions.

Unusual spending patterns

DSS spends $176 million annually and employs 1,200 workers to assist Mecklenburg's poor and neglected. The agency administers everything from food stamps to foster care and child protection services.

Last spring, DSS Director Mary Wilson ordered financial audits following reports of suspicious spending.

Auditors looked at multiple spending programs and financial practices in the agency. They found a $10,000 check made out to an employee, missing and altered receipts and money for kids spent on office supplies.

County leaders responded by suspending the programs, putting DSS finance under direct county control, training workers on accounting procedures and ordering a review of financial procedures in each county agency.

The Observer reviewed e-mails dating from December 2008 to July 2009 for seven current and former county administrators, including Wilson, County Manager Harry Jones, County Finance Director Dena Diorio and Internal Auditor Cornita Spears.

E-mails show county officials noticed unusual spending patterns as early as last December but did not disclose problems to the public until March.

On New Year's Eve, Wilson told staff she had suspended a voucher program the agency used to purchase clothes and other items for clients at local stores. She wrote that officials were worried about a lack of oversight and a spike in spending.

One monthly retail bill leapt from between $5,000 and $6,000 to more than $20,000 in October 2008, the e-mail says. Employees turned in receipts only 30 to 35 percent of the time, she wrote.

At one time or another, workers possessed or had access to numerous credit cards and gift cards, including some to Bath & Body Works, Bass Pro Shops, Macy's, the Cheesecake Factory and Outback Steakhouse.

Outside auditors verified for county administrators that DSS workers possessed county-issued credit cards, including 10 credit cards for Sam's Club, three for Harris Teeter and an online charge account with amazon.com.

In February, county officials asked internal auditors to look into questionable spending, including purchases of diamond earrings, leather coats and a DVD player.

An e-mail to one of the auditors from a human resources consultant said the purchases raise "many questions and concerns."

According to the county's statement, most gifts were typical children's items such as toys, clothes and books. More expensive items such as diamond earrings and leather coats were approved purchases for foster children who reached special milestones like high school graduation, the statement says.

"Receiving a gift of some significant value was viewed as an incentive for other children who were in foster care to set goals and accomplish them," the statement said.

Commissioner Harold Cogdell said he spent part of his early childhood in foster care and believes the gifts are a good idea.

"It makes sense to me to show the kids some love," Cogdell said.

A new Accountant

DSS has endured multiple management shakeups in recent years. The latest came when Wilson reorganized the agency after she was hired in July 2008.

She laid out the reasons to hire a new finance director in a February e-mail.

Wilson wrote that the senior fiscal administrator who managed DSS finances failed to provide reports about oversight, alienated staff and lacked the ability to conduct productive discussions with senior county executives. The e-mail does not name the senior fiscal administrator.

DSS later hired accountant Angela Hurlburt to oversee its finances.

James, the commissioner, said he has asked for the names and background information on Hurlburt's predecessors. He wants them to answer questions from the Board of Commissioners' Audit Review Committee, which investigated accounting lapses at DSS.

He said administrators have failed to respond to his requests and complained that officials "keep us in the dark."

Other Commissioners disagreed.

Chairman Jennifer Roberts and Commissioner Dumont Clarke said county leaders have already put in place reforms that will protect taxpayer and donor money.

"The highest priority" is implementing new financial controls, Clarke said.

Shifting the Finances

Auditors from Cherry, Bekaert & Holland reviewed DSS and found that Mecklenburg officials responded appropriately. The county's Audit Review Committee came to the same conclusion.

But DSS Director Wilson bristled at one of the major reforms.

Leaders put DSS finance under the direct control of the county's main finance department after allegations of misspending surfaced.

In April, Wilson sent an e-mail to County General Manager Michelle Lancaster to complain. Calling the decision "premature" and "shortsighted," Wilson said there are emergencies when DSS workers must write checks immediately, including occasions when the agency takes children in custody who need clothes, toiletries and school supplies.

"I understand the urgency at the time, but there was a reason DSS had check writing capability and I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater instead of fixing the underlying issue, which is documentation and accountability," Wilson wrote.

Donors left with Questions

Past supporters of the DSS Christmas charity include Young Lawyers, employees of Wachovia and Bank of America, and Project Joy, the holiday fund drive initiated by Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson. The Christmas charity, known as the Giving Tree, is now run by the Salvation Army.

The donor who gave $900 e-mailed the county in July after learning about accounting failures from news accounts. She attached a picture of the check copy she made around Christmas in 2007.

She wrote that she did not remember the name of the woman she spoke with on the phone.

The donor said she and her family all pitched in to raise the money so she could assist women like her who had struggled as single mothers.

When she heard there were allegations of misspending in a DSS charity program, "It's like your stomach just drops."





Spending Probe (Fraud) spreads at Charlotte-Mecklenburg DSS


A probe of misspending at a Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services Christmas charity has widened across the agency, and officials now say they are unable to say how much money may have disappeared over the years.

The county's second-largest agency, often a first stop for the community's poor or neglected, has recently been reorganized. Director Mary Wilson, hired last summer, ordered audits following reports of suspicious spending.

The audits looked at several spending programs and financial practices throughout the department.

Among the findings:

Mecklenburg County officials cannot account for $162,000 in donations meant to buy gifts for needy children. That includes a $10,000 check made out to an employee.

Of the 840 receipts inspected for that program, 799 had problems, including receipts that were altered, whited out or omitted in photocopying.

In a separate year-round program, auditors said, money meant to help foster families buy clothes and other necessities for children was spent on office supplies.

The audits cover July 2007 through this past March, but officials say they don't know whether problems started earlier because the last departmentwide audit of DSS was in 1996. Some findings have been turned over to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Officials briefed county commissioners earlier this month about the audits.

But new details are emerging since officials gave a fuller account last week to the commission's audit review committee.

Committee members told county administrators they did not understand how the department failed to adhere to basic financial practices, such as requiring two signatures on checks – a standard spelled out in N.C. law.

Some asked how managers could have allowed such behavior to go unnoticed. The audit committee also appeared surprised that receipts for the department had not been checked for so many years.

Such a review was planned for next year, said Chris Waddell of the county's Internal Audit department, who said he thinks the problems cited in recent audits would have been uncovered.

When panel members asked county auditors and administrators to find out who is responsible for the problems, or how long they persisted, officials cast doubt on whether they could comply.

“There's a lot of missing documentation,” county Finance Director Dena Diorio told the committee.

On Friday, County Manager Harry Jones said officials would respond to problems laid out in the audits.

Overall, Jones said, DSS has been “well-managed,” especially in light of numerous changes in top management in recent years.

But with “an operation of that size it is difficult to be immune from problems,” he said. “We're going to address it and fix it. Hopefully, it won't be recurring.”

"Feel-good" programs

Officials said charity and emergency spending programs went unchecked by supervisors. Asked why, Wilson said people grew very trusting about “feel-good” programs. Diorio said the longtime programs simply escaped scrutiny.

County officials said some DSS programs were audited annually, but not smaller programs like the Giving Tree.

DSS spends more than $176million annually and employs about 1,200 workers.

Problems surfaced publicly this year when Wilson said she learned about irregular spending patterns in the agency's programs for poor families and foster children.

Wilson said an employee raised questions about money in the Giving Tree program. Wilson said she herself pointed to a need to audit the broader programs.

Since then, leaders have ordered multiple financial audits and suspended two workers suspected of taking $110,000 from the Giving Tree program, which solicits money to buy the holiday gifts.

Officials say they have asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg police to help investigate. One of the suspended workers has been cleared of wrongdoing and reinstated, while the other is now on medical leave. The county has not publicly identified the employees.

County officials say they are trying to determine whether there was criminal activity or just sloppy accounting.

In either case, commissioner Bill James said the findings show the county needs to re-examine how it keeps tabs on taxpayer money. James described the fiscal controls at DSS as “nonexistent.”

“There is a fundamental management control deficiency,” James said. “We have to find out why this lasted as long as it did.”

Ward Simmons, another member of the county audit committee, said there should be two goals. “Fix this for the future, and then this has to do with public confidence in the county: (identify) who's responsible for what happened in the past.”

But county administrators say they are not sure who should be held accountable.

A series of DSS Directors

DSS has had four directors in recent years.

Longtime director Richard “Jake” Jacobsen took a medical leave in 2004 and was briefly replaced in the interim by then-deputy director Brenda Jackson. Jacobsen returned in 2005, only to be reassigned as an executive-in-residence at UNC Charlotte, where he started work in January 2008.

The county appointed another interim DSS director, Janice Allen Jackson, who was also one of the county's general managers.

Director Mary Wilson replaced her last July. Allen Jackson resigned in May for personal reasons.

As a general manager Allen Jackson was responsible for helping oversee DSS for four years. She also was interim director for six months.

Allen Jackson said she was not aware of any accounting failures during her tenure with the county. “No issues were brought to me,” she told the Observer before declining further comment.

Jacobsen worked for 13 years as head of the DSS. Through a county spokesman, Jacobsen declined to comment.

Jacobsen had named a senior-level administrator to oversee DSS finances during his tenure, but county leaders said the post later was vacated. Earlier this year, Wilson recreated the post, naming Angela Hurlburt as the department's director of financial management.

Jones praised Wilson for initiating the financial audit and said she had “clearly inherited this situation.”

“These are programs deliberately designed to operate outside the traditional DSS systems,” Jones said. He said Friday the emergency nature of the charity programs may have led to mistakes. Social workers often must act quickly to address such needs as clothing, housing and medicine.

A lax culture of Accounting

County officials described a lax culture at DSS about accounting procedures.

In some cases, Wilson said, social workers made expenditures without their supervisor's approval. Other times, she said, supervisors did not document approvals for expenses.

Officials say they are unsure whether employees were trained to properly carry out the department's financial policies.

“People who work anywhere need to know what the expectations are,” said John McGillicuddy, county general manager. “And when you know that they've been given those expectations and clear terms ... you can hold them accountable. Part of our challenge is going to be who should have known that these were their responsibility.”

McGillicuddy said county management and DSS directors bear some responsibility in making sure the county is effectively managing the public's money. But he said he thinks that if any of the previous DSS directors knew a problem was occurring, that it would have been addressed.

Officials said they have already addressed issues in the audits, including the need to process all checks through the county finance department and new training for DSS workers on accounting procedures. But the audit panel and county staff said they'd like more investigation.

Commissioner Dan Murrey said the challenge will be infusing the agency with a new culture.

“There are policies and procedures and the way we've always done things,” he said. “In a sound organization those two things are closer together.”



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Charmeck.org, NY Times, MSNBC, FBI, Gallup Poll Report, NC Metro Mayors.com, WRAL, Google Maps